St. John Fisher College softball head coach Len Maiorani picked up his 500^th career win today, and his team – after starting the year 1-9 in Arizona – has battled back and reached the .500 plateau for the season.

 

Fisher swept Empire 8 Conference rival Elmira College 6-0 and 8-2 today, raising its record to 13-13 on the year and 6-2 in the Empire 8 Conference.  The wins were the 500^th and 501^st of Maiorani’s 19-year career (14 years at Fisher; five years at SUNY Brockport).  Over the last 10 years, Maiorani has led the Cardinals to the postseason each year, while finishing each campaign at least 10 games over .500 for the season.

 

            “We played some pretty tough teams out in Arizona and struggled out the gate, but we’re playing a lot better right now,” Maiorani says.  “Our players are very resilient and we’re finding ways to win.”

 

            In the first game, Amanda Shevchuk (Fayetteville-Manlius/Manlius) struck out six and gave up four hits to earn the win. 

 

            Samantha Vara (Hamburg/Boston) and Jamie Harmon (South Portland/South Portland, ME) each finished with two hits and two RBI.   Seniors Sara Dresser (Medina/Medina) and Nicole Middleton (Hudson Falls/Fort Edward) each finished with a hit and scored a run.

 

            In the nightcap, Fisher’s Nicole Watkins (Canastota/Canastota) went 4-for-5 with a run and an RBI.  Meaghan Graves (Fort Ann/Fort Ann) finished with three hits, two runs and two RBI, while Kelly Hausler (Colonie/Niskayuna), Kristi Bradley (Dansville/Dansville) and Dresser each finished with two hits.  Katelyn Stubbendeck (Williamsville East/East Amherst) tied the game at 1-1 with an RBI-double.

 

            Freshman Melissa Blakeney (Vestal/Vestal) earned her eighth win of the season and finished with five strikeouts over seven innings.

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